Friday, December 19, 2014

In the 1970s, Richard Chase's murders terrorized Sacramento. They were brutal, gruesome and random. The only thing they had in common was a VERY small geographic region. Mr. Chase was clearly delusional and drank the blood of some of his victims (hence the moniker of 'Vampire'). The most interesting question I found while reading the book, is how clearly the definition of mental illness versus LEGAL insanity played out in his case. It was well researched and presented and a very interesting read.Terri

Thursday, December 18, 2014

I
wanted to start my top ten list early instead of waiting for January. At least
my top 3 authors and books. Max McCoy gets top honors for his historical
mystery seasons. I can't remember any titles this morning which tells you about
my week.

However moving right along Rhys Bowen's The Twelve Clues Of Christmas
takes top honors for her Royal Spyness Christmas Mystery in her series.

Third
place goes to the book The Yard and I mean this book takes place a year after
Jack The Ripper did his wicked serial killer ways. Now there is the Murder
Squad of Scotland Yard.

After
these comes a few more books that I can honestly say I love. Victoria Abbott
has a series to die for and all the books (which is two out of three) I have
read makes me wish I had written this series. The Sayers Swindle was wonderful
as wa The Christie Caper. I want to buy and review The Wolfe Widow.

This leads
me to Leigh Perry's A Skeleton In The Family Series. Now I have to thank
Leigh for writing this series as it got me back into writing a cozy series of
my own. I think her real name is Toni P. Kelner but I am not sure as the name
on this series is Leigh Perry.

Last but not least this morning is Forget
Me Knot it is a quilting mystery series by Mary Marks.

Now the rest of my
list will have to wait until I can find details on the other books. BUT this is
a start if you are looking for the perfect books for mystery readers.

Now
Terri and I have next week off so I am not sure how often we will blog. However
I will be around for the next week and after.

I
am so sorry I haven't been blogging lately but I've been sick with pneumonia
and am just now getting over it. I am sooo much better that I will say I am
well but don't want to jinx it. LOL

Our
holiday ought to be as usual interesting. We are leaving earlier tan expected
and coming home earlier than expected.

I
love and thank all of our readers and followers.

LET
your star shine bright. Please tell us when you have time what books have been
fun for you to read?

Thursday, December 4, 2014

The interesting thing about these murders is very few people even know about them. The Ripper crimes totally obscured any coverage or interest. Yet they really are just as gruesome if not more so, since only parts of dismembered bodies were found and most have not been identified.

MJ Trow has written some very excellent books on the subject of the Ripper and I was curious to see how he presented this. I was put off a bit by the VERY detailed history of the Thames and its London districts. Too muThe interesting thing about these murders is very few people even know about them. The Ripper crimes totally obscured any coverage or interest. Yet they really are just as gruesome if not more so, since only parts of dismembered bodies were found and most have not been identified.

MJ Trow has written some very excellent books on the subject of the Ripper and I was curious to see how he presented this. I was put off a bit by the VERY detailed history of the Thames and its London districts. Too much - information overload. And yet, probably very useful in a deeper understanding of some facets of the case. (Not to mention all the references remind me of current Sherlock locations....)

The sad thing is that most of the historical documents and information has been lost (more so than even the Ripper case) so even with the obviously painstaking research done here, it will not be possible to really know much more about this series of murders.

But it is interesting and it also tells us about another serial murder loose in London during Victorian times, overlapping with the Ripper's crimes.

A LACK OF
TEMPERANCE (A HATTIE DAVISH MYSTERY) by Anna Loan Wilsey. This is a a new to me
author and series. I got mine in large type hardback. It of course is an
historical mystery series. It is set in Eureka Springs Arkansas in 1892.

Hattie
is a traveling secretary and when she arrives to he new job she finds that her
employer has disappeared.

Next up is M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin Mystery
Series. THE BLOOD OF AN ENGLISHMAN

Well, with this title I had to check the book
out. I have read this series. Some of the books I like. Some... well... not so much. I
will get back to you.

Monday, December 1, 2014

November, 2014, wasn’t a month of great joy
in this house. Well, the dogs remained happy and contented all month long, but
I lost two very dear friends in November, and I resent it like fire.

Yes, I know that once you’re here, there’s only
one way out, and we’re all going to die one day. However, when my dear friend,
Sara Hoge, died in the early part of the month, her passing hurt. Heck, I even
made a flying trip (literally) to California in order to attend her memorial
service at the glorious Neighborhood Church in Pasadena. Sara’s last remaining
brother was there, and so were her three daughters and all of their children
(they’re all grown-ups. Funny how that happens). Anyway, it was great to see
everyone, including both of my daughters and my younger grandson Riki. Riki and
I pretty much ate our way through Pasadena. I stayed with another great friend,
Barbara Masters, and I’d forgotten how much fun we used to have together. So
even though the occasion for getting together was solemn, the trip was a huge
success. This, in spite of arriving at the Hollywood-Burbank Bob Hope Airport
at 9:30 p.m. and having to drive from there in a rental car to Altadena, CA,
and Barbara’s house. On the freeway. In the dark.

It’s been sixteen or seventeen years since
I’ve driven on an L.A. freeway at night. Trust me when I tell you that FAR more
people live in Southern California than live in Southeastern New Mexico. The
rental guy talked me into getting a GPS device for the car, and I’ll be forever
grateful to him for that, because the GPS lady, Ms. Ratchett (I’d just read a
Jeanne Glidewell book in which the GPS lady was Ms. Ratchett, so it came
naturally) directed me to Barbara’s house perfectly. I was terrified the whole
way there (all those headlights; sheesh!) but she didn’t miss a tip or a turn.
Whew!

Later on in the month, a sadder death
occurred, mainly because the dead guy, a wonderful man named Steven Dierks, was
only sixty years old. He’d recovered from a battle with stomach cancer and he
and his wife Kate were blissfully looking for houses to buy so they could get
away from the New Jersey town in which they lived. Then, out of the blue, Steve
was diagnosed with stage-four renal-cell cancer. Steve and Kate went through
four months of hell only to be told on a Friday that he was cancer-free. Then
he died Saturday night. Not fair. I don’t approve.

I met Kate and Steve through dog rescue. They
were into Sheltie rescue, kind of like I’m into Dachshund rescue. They’d driven
through Roswell (which very few people ever do, because Roswell isn’t on the
way to anywhere), noticed a scruffy little terrier mix at the Roswell Humane
Society, and fell in love with her. They left her there, but kept in touch with
the RHS folks. Finally, the little doggie’s time was up. Carole Rogers, the RHS
kennel manager, called to ask me if I’d be willing to foster a terrier until
transport could be arranged to get the pup to Kate and Steve in New Jersey.
What the heck. So I fostered the dog who eventually came to be called Bridey
until Steve could make arrangements to fly to the Albuquerque Sun Port to pick
her us. My wonderful neighbors, Barry and Ann Lasky, drove Bridey to Steve, and
Steve (after trying and failing to put a diaper on Bridey) put her in a little
crate, and flew her home to New Jersey under the seat in front of him on the
airplane. And now Steve is gone, and Bridey, Kate, and Harper (Bridey’s Sheltie
sister) are left to mourn.

There are aspects of life of which I just
don’t approve, and this is one of the biggest. Phooey.

I’ll be giving away advanced
reading copies (ARCs) of Thanksgiving
Angels some time after the first of the year (because I’m going on a
planned trip to Southern California for Christmas and won’t be home until after
the beginning of 2015). If you’d like to enter, just send me your name and home
address at: alice@aliceduncan.net I’ll drop your name into my winner-picking
wiener dog’s special contest doggie dish, and Bam-Bam (my winner-picking wiener
dog) will select winners when the time comes.

Enjoy some Mayhem & Magic!

Our blog is meant to evoke fun with the magic of myths, folklore, movies and the mayhem of murder and madness. We have to keep it interesting so if you like different genres of movies and books then you're at the right blog. Our authors are a wide range of experts and our readers know what is top of the line in their favorite genres. Sometimes we post recipes that might be fun to try if a culinary author has one in her book that we think is especially yummy or one that Terri and I have created and want to share with you. Enjoy Guest Blogger Alice Duncan's monthly muse on her books and writing mysteries.

Plus you won't want to miss our book reviews, author interviews or our guest bloggers. So grab your favorite beverage then join us for some magic and mayhem! The good news is that you don't have to leave the house or your comfy chair. We have something for everyone's taste and every month we have a different topic for our bloggers: ones we feel that might be useful in your own writing and reader points of view. Not to mention, life in general. So join us and be sure to have a notebook handy as your to-be-read pile will grow as you add books, recipes, movies and t.v. series you won't want to miss. Not to mention folktales, myths or ideas you may wish to explore. Be careful what you wish for because on mayhemandmagic2 you just might find it.